NCAA Wrestling Data1928–2026

1949 NCAA Championships

121 lb

Champion Arnold Plaza, Purdue (IN).Original bracket sheet ↗

All-Americans

  1. 1Arnold PlazaPUR
  2. 2Grady PeningerOKST
  3. 3Dick HauserCORNC
  4. 4Garth LappinMINN

In 1949, a wrestler wrestled back only if the man who beat him reached the final, and places were awarded through fourth, so the consolation bracket is shorter than a modern one. Every bout the tournament recorded is drawn here.

Connected 1949 121-pound bracket

Select a name to highlight their path; select it again to open the profile. Select a score for the bout.

How to read this bracket
  • Tap a name to follow that wrestler; tap it again to open their profile.
  • "Cons →" is where the loser continues in the consolation bracket; tap it to go there.
  • "↩" is where a wrestler arrived from the championship bracket.
  • The score opens the bout.
Final →Placements →

Championship

Consolation

Championship

Opening round · 0 bouts

13 byes into the round of 16

    Round of 16 · 5 bouts

    3 byes into the quarterfinal

    1. Arnold Plaza (1), Purdue (IN) over Ben Knaub, Northern Colorado — Dec 13–11 · View bout
    2. Dick Hauser (4), Cornell College (IA) over Harlan Swanson, Colorado State — Dec 7–1 · View bout
    3. Garth Lappin (3), Minnesota over Robert Flynn, San Diego State (CA) — Dec 14–2 · View bout
    4. Grady Peninger (2), Oklahoma State over Bob Yambor, Nebraska — Dec 6–1 · View bout
    5. Richard Picard, Illinois over Jim Fogarty, Syracuse (NY) — Dec 8–4 · View bout

    Quarterfinal · 4 bouts

    1. Arnold Plaza (1), Purdue (IN) over Richard Picard, Illinois — Dec 8–4 · View bout
    2. Dick Hauser (4), Cornell College (IA) over Hisashi Watanabe, Washington State — Dec 6–0 · View bout
    3. Garth Lappin (3), Minnesota over John Harrison, Northern Iowa — Dec 4–4 (tiebreaker) · View bout
    4. Grady Peninger (2), Oklahoma State over Sam Hirasawa, Wyoming — Fall 6:22 · View bout

    Semifinal · 2 bouts

    1. Arnold Plaza (1), Purdue (IN) over Dick Hauser (4), Cornell College (IA) — Dec 4–3 · View bout
    2. Grady Peninger (2), Oklahoma State over Garth Lappin (3), Minnesota — Fall 6:07 · View bout

    Final · 1 bout

    1. Arnold Plaza (1), Purdue (IN) over Grady Peninger (2), Oklahoma State — Dec 3–1 · View bout

    Consolation

    Consolation round 4 · 0 bouts

    2 byes into the consolation round 5

      Consolation round 5 · 2 bouts

      1. Ben Knaub, Northern Colorado over Richard Picard, Illinois — Dec 5–4 · View bout
      2. Bob Yambor, Nebraska over Sam Hirasawa, Wyoming — Fall 2:28 · View bout

      Consolation semifinal · 2 bouts

      1. Dick Hauser (4), Cornell College (IA) over Ben Knaub, Northern Colorado — Dec 11–1 · View bout
      2. Garth Lappin (3), Minnesota over Bob Yambor, Nebraska — Dec 2–1 · View bout

      Placement bouts

      3rd-place bout · 1 bout

      1. Dick Hauser (4), Cornell College (IA) over Garth Lappin (3), Minnesota — Fall 6:40 · View bout